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When did they stop making pennies with copper?
US Pennies were made of 95% copper (with the exception of the 1943 steel cent) from 1864-1982. Midway through 1982, the cent switched to copper plated zinc. So any penny dated 1983-present is just copper plated zinc. However a coin dated 1982 could either be 95% copper or copper plated zinc. A copper coin should weigh about 3.11 grams while the zinc pennies are lighter at about 2.5 grams.
What is the value of a 1983 US copper penny?
A 1983 Lincoln cent is actually copper plated zinc, 1982 was the last year for copper pennies. It's just a penny.
When did the stop making the copper pennies?
1982. Since then pennies have been mostly zinc with just a little copper.As the immediate above statement includes the word copper as part of the answer, which part is, in fact, true, then 1982 is not the answer to the question after all...If the "the(y)" part of the question above refers to the U.S., the U.S. government, or the U.S. Mint, then 1982 was the last mint year for 95% copper cents. Since mid-1982, the newest (current, as of 2012) composition for U.S. one-cent coins ("pennies") has an inner core alloy of 99.2% zinc with 0.8% copper, with the coin balance as an outer plating of pure copper, for a total coin composition of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. These current pennies are commonly called "zinc pennies". The composition of U.S. pennies from mid-1864 to mid-1982 was an alloy of 95% copper with either 5% tin-and-zinc ("bronze" pennies) or 5% zinc ("brass" pennies). Before that, the composition was an alloy of 88% copper with 12% nickel from mid-1857 to mid-1864 (the only time any pennies ever contained nickel), and, initially, from 1793 to mid-1857, the first U.S. pennies were made of pure (100%) copper.Since the first U.S. one-cent coins in 1793, U.S. pennies have always contained at least some copper, except for 1943, when they were made of a low-grade carbon steel and coated with zinc, having a grey color, due to the need for copper and brass during World War II. These are commonly referred to as "steel" pennies (they contain NO copper)...Therefore, the most correct answer to the question is either:(1) "they" (the U.S.) have never stopped making copper pennies, except in 1943; or(2) 1943 is the only year the U.S. stopped making copper pennies, or made pennies with NO copper in them.Hope this helps!
What is the price of copper pennies before the year 1982?
The value of the metal is between 2 and 3 US cents (about 2.5 cents) But it varies as copper changes value. I do not believe it is legal to "melt down" a penny(s) for the metal and make the additional profit off of it, because this could be construed as defacing money. I have heard that since the government/banks are trying to remove the pennies from circulation they have been deemed something like "recalled" type status and this disables them from stopping someone from doing such things, but I am not sure which research Is correct, so it may be a gray area. I would recommend looking into the laws before trying something like that, but just collecting the copper pennies can not be deterred by anyone so maybe one day when copper is not "legal tender" anymore and it is worth a whole lot more, you might be glad you kept the pre-1982 copper pennies!
How and when did pennies start being made of zinc and copper instead of just copper?
It turns out that the solid copper U.S. cent was minted from 1793 to 1837. After that, it was "mostly" copper, and the other metals included in the alloy varied a bit from time to time. It was in 1982 that the big change occurred and the copper content of the cent was cut to the 2.5% copper used in the plating. Hey, why not surf on over to the Wikipedia post on the U.S. cent and look at the handy table showing what was in the penny at different times in history? Oh, and you'll need a link. We've got one for you, and you'll find it below.
